13 October 1812 – Americans crossed the Niagara River and attacked the high ground of Queenston Heights. His sword drawn, Major-General Brock led troops into battle and was fatally wounded by an American sniper. The battle essentially lost, Grand River Mohawk warriors led by John Norton (Teyoninhokarawen) prevented American forces from retreating for several hours until reinforcements led by Major-General Roger Sheaffe arrived and forced over 1,000 American soldiers to surrender. 14 October 1942 – During the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, German submarine U-69 sank the SS Caribou off Newfoundland. The passenger ferry was on its way to Port aux Basques, N.L, when she was torpedoed. She sank in less than five minutes, taking 137 men, women and children to their deaths. Between 1942 and 1944, over 20 ships were attacked and sunk in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River. 15 October 1954 – Mother Nature showed her ferocity when Hurricane Hazel struck Toronto. Though the storm was projected to weaken, Hazel got stronger, battering the Toronto region with winds of up to 110 km/h and dumping nearly 300 mm of rain on an already saturated landscape. Roads were washed out and trains were derailed. Nearly 2,000 families were left homeless, and 81 people were killed. 16 October 1870 – Aeronautical engineer and aviation pioneer Wallace Rupert Turnbull was born at Saint John, N.B. Turnbull constructed Canada’s first wind tunnel in 1902, was awarded the Royal Aeronautical Society’s bronze medal in 1909, and revolutionized air travel with his variable-pitch propeller, the first of its kind to fly successfully. We’re not making this up, but Turnbull never flew in a plane. 17 October 1966 - Montréal's subway, the Métro, began operations. The Montréal Métro glides quietly underground on rubber tires and handles more than 1.2 million trips per day. 18 October 1748 – The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the War of the Austrian Succession. The treaty changed very little for the Canadian colonies’ key belligerents, Britain and France, though Cape Breton was returned to the French. However, relations with Aboriginal peoples changed significantly. The Iroquois nations allied with the English, and the Algonquian nations with the French, an alignment that would significantly impact the coming Seven Years’ War. 19 October 1864 – A party of Confederate agents based in Canada raided the town of St. Albans, Vermont. This northernmost land action of the American Civil War caused much tension between Great Britain and the United States. Incidents such as the St. Albans Raid increased fears of American expansion northward in the lead-up to Canadian Confederation. Image: Métro, Montréal. deleted.scenes. Flickr/cc.